Secrets at the Loch (Loch Lannick #5) - Hannah Ellis Page 0,40

activity centre? I thought it was going to be a busy week.”

“They’ll have to manage without me. I really feel I need to get away. I can’t concentrate on anything.”

“If that’s what you need to do,” Mary said, her features etched with concern. “Will you get in touch with Stephanie while you’re there?”

“No.” Lexie swallowed hard. She hated talking about Stephanie with Mary. She still felt traitorous for the time she’d left Mary and Angus in favour of her birth mother. She’d been a stroppy teenager, convinced that Mary and Angus were strict and overbearing and that she’d be better off with her “real” mum. That had backfired quite royally.

“You can tell me if you want to see her. I’d never be offended. It’s only natural––”

“No,” Lexie snapped. “I won’t see her. I’ll never have anything to do with her ever again.”

“Okay.” Mary gently squeezed Lexie’s hand.

“I’ll probably only be a few days.” Lexie already felt better at the thought of getting away from Skye for a wee while. She felt suddenly stifled. “I’ll get up and go first thing tomorrow.”

“Call me when you arrive at your grandad’s,” Mary said as she gave her a quick hug.

“I will.”

“And drive safely,” Mary called after her as she made for the door.

Chapter Nineteen

Lexie called Tim at the activity centre early on Sunday morning. She wasn’t down to work on Sunday so she didn’t feel she was leaving him in the lurch too much. He could easily find someone to cover for her for the following week. It was a stretch of the truth when she told him her grandad’s health wasn’t great and she needed to visit him, but it did the trick. Tim was sympathetic and told her take as long as she needed.

When she left Lannick in the middle of the morning, Lexie didn’t have much of a plan. The idea of visiting her grandad niggled at her, but she hadn’t been in touch with him to tell him that. All she knew was that she needed to get away. It felt like an adventure as she drove over the bridge that took her from Skye to the mainland. Driving aimlessly gave her a buzz. It wasn’t entirely aimless, though. She told herself she was just driving and would see where she ended up, but deep down she had a destination in mind. And it wasn’t her grandad’s house.

It took a little over two hours to reach Fort William. Even then, she told herself she was only having a rest stop. She had no idea where Nick’s parents lived and she was sure he wouldn’t be keen to see her. But there was something oddly comforting about knowing he was nearby. Maybe she could see if he had time to meet her. She should at least apologise.

After a stroll through the small town and a bite to eat in a cosy cafe, she sat on a bench in the gardens in the centre of town and pulled her phone out. Her heart rate shot up at the thought of calling Nick. A message would be better, but again she had no idea what to say. He’d think she was nuts for turning up in Fort William. Shaking her head at her indecisiveness, she put the phone away again and shoved her hands in her pockets.

The cold seeped through the thin material of her trainers, making her toes tingle as numbness set in. Setting off in the direction of her car, it occurred to her that she needed to make a decision about what she was doing. And mostly where she would stay for the night. Highland roads weren’t particularly pleasant to drive at night, so if she really was going to visit her grandad, she needed to get moving. Or she could abandon her little adventure and head home again.

When she reached her car, she turned the heat on full blast, rubbing her hands together in front of the air vent. Staying the night in Fort William would make sense. That way she could message Nick and say she was driving through on her way to visit her grandad. Admittedly it was slightly odd to make an overnight stop when she was only two hours from home, but it was marginally better than her randomly turning up with no reason.

Searching for accommodation on her phone ended up being time-consuming. In the end, she found a cheap holiday apartment with a view of the water. Lexie loved her view of the